1 00:00:07,59 --> 00:00:11,89 My name is Porter and I am the project director for the creating Healthy 2 00:00:11,90 --> 00:00:17,00 Communities Program at the Cincinnati health department one of our programs include 3 00:00:17,00 --> 00:00:23,25 . Monday and the whole goal and idea of mentoring Monday is to have. 4 00:00:24,87 --> 00:00:31,73 Staff as well as sit down and talk about healthy eating staff and students have 5 00:00:31,74 --> 00:00:37,00 lunch together and they talk about healthy living healthy eating and other topics 6 00:00:37,19 --> 00:00:41,11 that might plague assume throughout the day including bullying are possibly 7 00:00:41,28 --> 00:00:47,66 self-esteem issues partners include the healthy Monday national office the 8 00:00:47,67 --> 00:00:54,08 Nutrition Council Cincinnati health department the heart at the Cincinnati 9 00:00:54,09 --> 00:01:00,73 Children's Hospital Alliance for healthy. Try to help the creating healthy 10 00:01:00,74 --> 00:01:07,43 communities program. A group of students with and what have 11 00:01:07,44 --> 00:01:08,76 lunch with the principal and have 12 00:01:08,77 --> 00:01:14,40 a conversation because they help us to become better people in the future and we 13 00:01:14,41 --> 00:01:20,22 talked about our goals as well as healthy eating healthy living. Now with 14 00:01:21,05 --> 00:01:25,71 a few testimonials from Cincinnati Public School at Evanston Academy. 15 00:01:31,67 --> 00:01:37,49 One of my favorite is that when we sat down with the kids really do not know what 16 00:01:37,50 --> 00:01:41,87 some of the fruits are and I love being able to enter different kinds of foods to 17 00:01:41,88 --> 00:01:46,01 the kids different kinds of fruits and vegetables that they have never even tried 18 00:01:46,02 --> 00:01:52,89 like squash or are just. Ugly truths that they've never seen before and even some 19 00:01:52,90 --> 00:01:55,04 of the prison I found in my life there's 20 00:01:55,05 --> 00:02:00,52 a combination of different things and these kids really have no idea and. I want to 21 00:02:00,53 --> 00:02:03,49 be able them to be able to go home and share that with their parents something this 22 00:02:03,50 --> 00:02:09,68 age that was different at school that they can share family my favorite experience 23 00:02:09,69 --> 00:02:16,04 with. Sitting with the kids and eating and. This is the only 24 00:02:16,05 --> 00:02:22,90 opportunity I had during the day really at any time to talk. About food 25 00:02:22,91 --> 00:02:27,40 and so I really enjoyed talking with them about their eating habits listening to 26 00:02:27,41 --> 00:02:34,35 stories that they have about. What they like to eat and what 27 00:02:34,36 --> 00:02:35,40 they don't like to eat. 28 00:02:41,33 --> 00:02:44,80 I think it's important to the kids at least have the knowledge to make healthy 29 00:02:44,81 --> 00:02:51,04 choices you know whether the advice that I share each week or not they still have 30 00:02:51,05 --> 00:02:52,58 a better understanding of 31 00:02:53,12 --> 00:02:57,41 a healthy choice versus an unhealthy choice in their everyday life you know when 32 00:02:57,42 --> 00:03:03,20 most choices are available to them and also the program offers incentives for 33 00:03:03,31 --> 00:03:07,41 employees who do participate in that like the WANNA style or sort of the new card 34 00:03:07,42 --> 00:03:12,91 program and the free lunches nice to go out well the first time that I participated 35 00:03:12,91 --> 00:03:18,60 . You know it was an opportunity to connect with some students who I felt 36 00:03:19,48 --> 00:03:25,79 really could have used an additional kind of. Push during the day 37 00:03:26,14 --> 00:03:30,88 and the second time it was just kind of to reconnect with those kids because I work 38 00:03:31,05 --> 00:03:36,69 with. So many kids from the day it's nice to have some continuity with specific 39 00:03:36,70 --> 00:03:38,52 heads and I feel just 40 00:03:39,28 --> 00:03:47,15 a little extra positivity during winter and. I 41 00:03:47,16 --> 00:03:51,23 love having. Fun times having a good sense of humor 42 00:03:51,75 --> 00:03:56,57 a meal us to be fun and happy times it's not a it's not 43 00:03:56,58 --> 00:04:03,49 a serious. Play. As enjoy your food enjoy 44 00:04:03,50 --> 00:04:09,26 different kinds of foods try different things and enjoy the conversation that. I 45 00:04:09,27 --> 00:04:14,55 like. That they give us an opportunity to do this if they give us an opportunity to 46 00:04:14,56 --> 00:04:20,23 eat with the kids and you know they gave us so of course as 47 00:04:20,24 --> 00:04:27,21 a staff member you know I'm more of the only. Thing that just 48 00:04:27,22 --> 00:04:33,82 the opportunity that. They give us that we can actually go over first and then talk 49 00:04:33,83 --> 00:04:38,52 to the kids about whatever it is that they want us to talk to them about that we. 50 00:04:40,00 --> 00:04:40,16 Have 51 00:04:40,17 --> 00:04:47,38 a full plate of whatever they want to see. How they set it up. So 52 00:04:47,39 --> 00:04:47,74 they make 53 00:04:47,75 --> 00:04:57,21 a really easy to. Teach that. I 54 00:04:57,22 --> 00:04:58,00 don't have 55 00:04:58,01 --> 00:05:03,32 a better understanding altogether of what students can do and have options to do it 56 00:05:03,33 --> 00:05:05,37 once and I think that is 57 00:05:05,38 --> 00:05:11,70 a direct result of the program the kids have the knowledge to make better choices 58 00:05:11,71 --> 00:05:16,66 in their everyday life and. Whether they choose to make that choice or not they 59 00:05:16,67 --> 00:05:19,25 have the knowledge to know is it a good choice or is it 60 00:05:19,26 --> 00:05:22,18 a bad choice so I think that's the most important. 61 00:05:27,41 --> 00:05:32,10 Made connections with kids who would always be you know would always get along but 62 00:05:32,10 --> 00:05:38,37 . Children who might otherwise not. And I'm hoping 63 00:05:39,28 --> 00:05:45,44 given the fact. That they are enjoying having an interaction with 64 00:05:45,90 --> 00:05:46,52 a teacher in 65 00:05:46,53 --> 00:05:51,74 a different setting I'm kind of seeing teachers are people too and not just the 66 00:05:51,75 --> 00:05:58,70 person who told you what to do. Thank 67 00:05:58,71 --> 00:06:01,05 you for watching and if you're interested in being 68 00:06:01,06 --> 00:06:05,43 a mentor please visit the website below for more information.